Manchester United duo predicted to sign new deals.
Sunday 14 March
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has predicted England internationals Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, both 35, will sign new contracts to stay at the club next season.
Stoke striker James Beattie will be out of action until at least the end of April after undergoing surgery to solve a knee cartilage problem.
Guus Hiddink has stated he does not want to be considered as a potential manager for the Ivory Coast at this summer’s World Cup, as that is when he wants to start his new permanent role as Turkey coach.
England Manager Fabio Capello was at Stamford Bridge on Saturday where he saw Chelsea beat West Ham 4-1 and go back to the top of the Premier League table.
Nicklas Bendtner scored a last minute goal to move Arsenal level on points with Chelsea thanks to a 2-1 win at 10-man Hull. Manchester United will go top on Sunday if they do not lose to Fulham.
Wolves were the big winners in the Premier League relegation battle as they went to Burnley and secured a 2-1 victory.
Rushden & Diamonds were the big scorers in the Conference Premier League as they maintained a promotion challenge thanks to an 8-0 win over Gateshead.
That was nothing in terms of goals compared to the 11-goal thriller in League Two. While Rochdale increased their lead at the top of the table the game of the day was at Burton where Cheltenham came away with a 6-5 victory.
Norwich City continue to look like potential winners of the League One title after they came from behind to win 3-1 at Huddersfield Town. Second-placed Leeds lost at Southampton while Charlton were well beaten at Millwall.
Newcastle remain on top of the Championship table with a 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough, but their lead has been cut to four points by West Brom, who beat Blackpool 3-2 at home.
Saturday 13 March
Aaron Lennon is in danger of missing the rest of the season with the groin injury that has kept him out of action this year. The Tottenham and England winger has not played since December and manager Harry Redknapp admitted he has no idea when he will be back in action. Jonathan Woodgate has also been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing groin surgery in Australia.
Arsene Wenger has told Real Madrid to forget about trying to take him to Spain before his contract at Arsenal expires next year. The Spanish giants are thought to be keen on Wenger to replace Manuel Pellegrini, who is expected to leave after Real crashed out of the Champion League this week.
Peter Storrie has resigned as Chief Executive of Portsmouth as part of the recent round of job cuts at the club, which is in administration. The former West Ham and Notts County executive had been at Fratton Park for seven years.
Chelsea face a goalkeeping crisis ahead of their games against West Ham and Inter Milan in the next few days. Petr Cech is out with a calf strain and his deputy Hilario was injured last week, meaning Ross Turnbull will play with teenage keeper Rhys Taylor on the subs’ bench.
Meanwhile Carlo Ancelotti is “100 per cent” certain that Joe Cole will sign a new contract with Chelsea. The England midfielder’s contract at Stamford Bridge ends this summer, but the manager says “I have spoken with him and he wants to stay, I want him to stay and the club want him to stay.”
Derby County’s American owners have rejected a £37m bid from former chairman Peter Gadsby to buy the club. Gadsby, a local businessman, said he planned to develop the area around Pride Park and promised at least £5m to manager Nigel Clough for new players.
Greg Clarke has been appointed the new Chairman of the Football League, succeeding Lord Mawhinney. The former Leicester City Chairman will take over on Friday and warns that football will be in for a tough time in the harsh economic climate over the next decade.
Alessandro Nesta could miss the rest of the season if he has an operation on the knee tendons he damaged last weekend. The AC Milan and Italy defender missed his club’s 4-0 defeat by Manchester United this week and must now decide whether to have surgery.
Friday 12 March
Liverpool face a tricky second leg against Lille in the last 16 of the Europa League after suffering a 1-0 defeat against the French side. Eden Hazard scored the only goal late in the game.
Fulham crashed to a 3-1 defeat against Juventus in the same competition. Juventus raced into a two-goal lead with strikes from Nicola Legrottaglie and Jonathan Zebina. Dickson Etuhu pulled a goal back for the west London club before David Trezeguet put the Italian giants in the driving seat.
Manchester United have signed a five-year sponsorship deal with communications group Telekom Malaysia and chief executive David Gill feels this shows the Glazer family have no intentions of selling the club. Gill said: "We will be around for the length of this deal and many more in addition to that. This demonstrates the strength of the club. It is a long-term partnership for five years.”
Arsenal will be without captain Cesc Fabregas for the trip to Hull City on Saturday, unless there is a miracle according to manager Arsene Wenger. The club’s top scorer had to limp off in last week’s home win against Burnley and missed the midweek demolition of Porto.
Ivory Coast and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has been voted African Footballer of the Year. Drogba scored five goals to help his country qualify for the World Cup this summer.
Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has not suffered another setback in his long-awaited return from a knee injury, despite having to withdraw from a reserve match against local rivals Manchester City on Thursday night.
Leicester City have snapped up James Vaughan on an initial one-month loan from Everton. Vaughan, 21, has scored twice in 11 appearances for Everton this season and had a previous loan spell at Derby County cut short due to injury.
Liverpool full-back Stephen Darby has joined League One side Swindon Town on loan for the rest of the season. The youngster has played just three times for Liverpool this season.
Thursday 11 March
Manchester United crushed AC Milan 4-0 at Old Trafford to reach the last eight of the Champions League. England striker Wayne Rooney was the inspiration for United, who wrapped up a 7-2 aggregate victory, scoring the opening two goals before Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher added some gloss to the scoreline. David Beckham came off the bench for the visitors to a tremendous reception.
Real Madrid crashed out of the Champions League after Lyon secured a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu Stadium – where the Final will be played – and went through 2-1 on aggregate. Real spent £230m in the summer, and it was £80m man Cristiano Ronaldo who opened the scoring, only for Miralem Pjanic to break Madrid hearts with 15 minutes left.
Burnley remain in the Premier League’s relegation zone despite David Nugent earning them a 1-1 draw with Stoke. Tuncay had grabbed the opener for the visitors at Turf Moor.
In the Championship, Reading beat Derby 4-1 at the Madejski Stadium. The visitors’ night fell apart when substitute goalkeeper Saul Deeney was sent-off, meaning midfielder Robbie Savage had to go in goal. And goals from Shane Long, Jimmy Kebe, Ryan Bertrand and Simon Church meant there was no fairytale ending for the former Wales international.
England Manager Fabio Capello insists his side can reach the World Cup semi-finals and believes that in Wayne Rooney he has a player all other national teams will fear. “The semi-finals is a minimum,” he said. “We can beat all the teams because we play at the same level as the best teams. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronald and Rooney are the best in the world.”
Chester City have been wound up at a High Court hearing, it has been announced. Chester were thrown out of the Conference on 26 February due to an unpaid tax bill of £26,125 and supporters’ groups say they intend to start a new ‘phoenix’ club.
Portsmouth’s financial problems continue as they made 85 employees redundant. No players lost their jobs and it has been announced that other staff may work less hours or see their wages deferred.
Cardiff have been given until 5 May to pay their outstanding tax bill of £1.8m. The club say they intend to sell two plots of land to raise the money. Southend have also been in the High Court, and they have been granted a 35-day extension to pay their tax debt of £183,000.
Nottingham Forest captain Paul McKenna’s knee injury is not as serious as first feared and he could play again this season, it has been announced. “Knowing Paul as I do, I wouldn’t necessarily rule him out for the rest of the season,” said manager Billy Davies.
Farsley Celtic have been disbanded. The Palmer-Farrell consortium have not been able to come up with an offer to satisfy administrator Robert Addison.
Wednesday 10 March
Arsenal qualified for the quarter finals of the Champions League after beating Porto 5-0 in their second leg clash at the Emirates. Nicklas Bendtner's hat-trick and strikes from Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Eboue were enough to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg.
Elsewhere in the Champions League, Bayern Munich lost 3-2 at Fiorentina but the 4-4 aggregate score meant they advanced on away goals.
England hopeful Darren Bent scored a hat-trick as Sunderland crushed Bolton 4-0 to ease their Premier League relegation fears.
Portsmouth lost further ground in their fight for survival as they went down 2-1 at home to Birmingham, with Cameron Jerome's double the difference.
West Brom kept the pressure up on Championship leaders Newcastle with a 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday while Roy Keane's Ipswich beat Cardiff 2-0 to boost their survival hopes.
Elsewhere, QPR beat struggling Plymouth 2-0, Crystal Palace lost 1-0 at home to Bristol City, Preston were held at home to Doncaster while Sheffield United crashed to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Peterborough.
In League One, Leeds cut Norwich's lead at the top to four points as they beat Tranmere 4-1 away, MK Dons beat Swindon 2-1, Millwall beat Carlisle 3-1 and Oldham won 2-0 at home to Leyton Orient.
League Two high fliers Bury were held to a 1-1 draw at home to lowly Darlington and Notts County capitalised as they beat Chesterfield 1-0.
In Tuesday night's other action, Crewe beat Grimsby 4-2, Port Vale won 2-1 at home to Bradford and there were draws for Macclesfield and Accrington Stanley.
Steven Whittaker and Kenny Miller were on target as Rangers moved 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League, courtesy of a 2-0 win at Kilmarnock.
Sir Alex Ferguson is wary of the threat posed by David Beckham ahead of Manchester United’s last 16 Champions League tie with AC Milan on Wednesday. England international Beckham returns to Old Trafford for the first time since he left in 2003 and Ferguson said: “You have to be aware of David’s set-pieces, they are fantastic.”
Mark Halsey refereed his first match since winning his latest battle against cancer on Tuesday night . Halsey, 48, took charge of the reserve match between Leicester and Scunthorpe.
Wes Brown’s World Cup hopes remain alive after he was ruled out for a maximum of six weeks. The Manchester United defender broke his fourth metatarsal against Wolves last weekend but is expected to make a quicker than expected recovery.
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo reckons his side are capable of overturning their 1-0 deficit against Lyon in the Champions League.
Madrid face the French side at the Bernabeu on Wednesday and Ronaldo said: “It is a do-or-die match but we are a strong team and I expect us to win.”
Tuesday 9 March
Hugo Rodallega scored the only goal of the game as Wigan Athletic beat Champions League-chasing Liverpool 1-0 at the DW Stadium on Monday night. The Colombian striker volleyed home a first half winner to ease Wigan’s relegation worries and deal a blow to Liverpool’s chances of finishing in the Premier League top four.
In League One, Brighton secured a vital point in their relegation fight with a goalless home draw against Colchester, who remain fourth and on course for at least a play-off spot.
Arsenal will be without captain Cesc Fabregas for Tuesday night’s Champions League second leg clash against Porto after the influential Spaniard suffered a hamstring problem during Saturday’s 3-1 home win over Burnley. Arsenal head into the game at the Emirates Stadium looking to overturn a 2-1 defeat in the first leg.
Wes Brown is the latest player to join the Manchester United casualty list with a suspected broken metatarsal sustained during his side’s 1-0 victory at Wolves on Saturday. The club are waiting for the results of a scan.
Referee Mark Halsey will officiate his first match on Tuesday night since receiving the all-clear to return to the game. Halsey has won the first stage of his battle against throat cancer and, after passing a fitness test, he will take charge of a reserve match between Leicester and Scunthorpe at Hinckley.
Southend United have announced that assistant manager Paul Brush has been sacked after six seasons at the Essex-based club, who are currently 22^nd in League One.
League Two Hereford have sacked manager John Trewick, with chairman Graham Turner taking charge of the first-team on a short-term basis until a permanent successor is appointed.
AFC Bournemouth goalkeeper Shwan Jalal has signed a new two-year contract with the League Two side.
Chester City’s results in the Conference Premier have been expunged after they decided not to appeal against their expulsion from the division. Oxford United have now overtaken Stevenage Borough at the top of the league as a result.
Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery has confirmed that Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona are all competing for his signature in the summer. “I am not 100 per cent sure I am going to go to Real Madrid,” said the 26-year-old Frenchman. “Barca are also attracted, and there is Chelsea.”
In Scotland, Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers have confirmed that talks have opened between majority shareholder Sir David Murray and property developer Andrew Ellis regarding a potential takeover of the club.
Monday 8 March
Mikel Arteta was the star of Everton’s 5-1 victory over Hull City in the Premier League, scoring twice in a crucial win for David Moyes’ side. Landon Donovan and Jack Rodwell also hit the net while Hull’s Richard Garcia added an own goal. Hull keeper Boaz Myhill saved a penalty from Yakubu and tennager Tom Cairney scored with a fine volley but overall it was a disappointing day for Phil Brown’s side. The result leaves Everton eighth in the table and Hull in the bottom three.
Everton are resigned to losing striker Landon Donovan after failing to agree a deal to keep him at Goodison Park for longer. The striker has been on loan from LA Galaxy but is due to return to America after next weekend’s game against Birmingham. "We'd like him to stay but it looks like he's going back," said Everton manager David Moyes.
Wayne Rooney, who missed Man United’s victory at Wolves on Saturday with a knee injury, is also a doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League clash against AC Milan at Old Trafford.
Cesc Fabregas is a major doubt for Arsenal’s match against Porto on Tuesday after limping off against Burnley on Saturday with a hamstring injury. Manager Arsene Wenger said: "How big the damage is we don't know yet. We'll see Monday. We will have to make a late decision if he plays on Tuesday, certainly."
Real Madrid came from 2-0 down against Sevilla in La Liga to win 3-2. Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Rafael van der Vaart secured victory.
In Scotland, Robbie Keane scored twice as Celtic cut Rangers' lead at the top with a 2-0 victory over Falkirk. Dundee United beat Hearts 1-0 to go third.
In Italy, Inter Milan were held to a goalless draw by Genoa and Palmero moved back to fourth with a 1-0 victory over Livorno.
Gary Neville’s career at Manchester United could still be extended by another year according to manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Some reports have suggested Neville could retire this summer but Ferguson said: “Gary still has plenty to offer and I think we could probably get another year out of him. He is a great professional.”
Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson has strongly rejected a Sunday newspaper report claiming he is supporting the Red Knights' bid to take over Manchester United. He said: “It's absolute rubbish. There's not an ounce of truth in it."
